Plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots

ABSTRACT

A plant for the electroslag melting of hallow ingots in which there is provided a mast to which are fastened outboard thereof via a top carriage and a bottom carriage appropriately an electrode holder and a mandrel adapted to shape an ingot space so as to allow their vertical transfer. A cooled mold is mounted on a base plate which is a car provided with an opening to receive the mandrel. The mandrel is provided in its base with a ball-shaped support secured intermediate of sockets mounted on a bracket of the bottom carriage to provide an angular deflection of the mandrel with respect to such bracket for maintaining its vertical position. The sockets in which the ball-shaped support of the mandrel is attached are set up in bearings to allow their (sockets) displacement in a horizontal direction.

United States Patent [191 Medovar et al.

1 1 PLANT FOR THE ELECTROSLAG MELTING OF HOLLOW INGOTS [76] lnventors: Boris Izrailevich Medovar, ulitsa A.

Barbjusa, 22/26, kv. 109; Valery Evgenievich Lanevsky, ulitsa V. Kuchera, 2, kv. 8; Jury Fedorovich Alferov, bulvar Lepse, 29, kv. 64; Rudolf Solomonovich Dubinsky, Politeknicheskaya ulitsa 5, kv. 209; Mikhail Elevich Berezovsky, ulitsa Lomonosova, 21/14, kv. 54; Leonty Vasilievich Chekotilo, ulitsa A. Barbjusa, 22/26, kv. 64; Leonid 'Viktorovich Pavlov, ulitsa Borschagovskaya, 234, kv. 6, all of Kiev; Veniamin Alexandrovich Ishunkin, ulitsa Tolbukhina, 7, kv. 142, Moscow; Anatoly Ivanovich Shevtsov, ulitsa Vorovskogo, 5, kv. 9; Semen Yakovlevich Grinshpon, ulitsa Butova, 128, kv. 37, both of Kulebaki Gorkovskoi oblasti, all of U.S.S.R.

[22] Filed: Dec. 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 423,750

[52] U.S. Cl. 164/252, 164/136 [51] Int. Cl B22d 27/02 [58] Field of Search 164/52, 85, 136, 252

. [111 3,863,699 [451 Feb. 4, 1975 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,610,319 10/1971 Kleinhagauer et al 164/252 3,687,188 8/1972 Paton et a1 164/52 3,721,286 3/1973 Paton et a1 164/52 Primary Examiner-Francis S. Husar Assistant Examiner-John E. Roethel Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holman & Stern [57] ABSTRACT A plant for the electroslag melting of hallow ingots in which there is provided a mast towhich are-fastened outboard thereof via a top carriage and-a bottom carriage appropriately an electrode holder and a mandrel adapted to shape an ingot space so as to allow their vertical transfer. A cooled mold is mounted on a base plate which is a car provided with an opening to receive the mandrel.

The mandrel is provided in its base with a ball-shaped support secured intermediate of sockets mounted on a bracket of the bottom carriage to provide an angular deflection of the mandrel with respect to such bracket for maintaining its vertical position. The sockets in which the ball-shaped support of the mandrel is attached are set up in bearings to allow their (sockets) displacement in a horizontal direction.

2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PLANT FOR THE ELECTROSLAG MELTING 0F HOLLOW moors BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to plants for the electro-slag melting of hollow ingots employed in electrometallurgy.

PRIOR ART shaping an ingot space. The car is set up on guide bars so that it is free to drive.

In such a plant, the mandrel is rigidly fixed to a carriage bracket. As an ingot is being shaped, it suffers from shrinkage through which the mandrel can be seized by the ingot. As the carriage descends together with the mandrel secured outboard thereof, the longitudinal axis of the mandrel deflects angularly from that of the ingot being melted, with the forces arising on the internal surface of the ingot which results in the origination of cracks and irregularities on the ingot interior. Sometimes even a more serious wedging of the mandrel may occur with the ensuing skewing of the mandrel in the ingot space. The mandrel cannot be thereby removed from the ingot and the melting process has to be interrupted. This in turn reduces the output of the move horizontally with the aid of a plant.

Owing to an increase in the amount of metal being remelted, an inadequate life period of the plant, its small output and low quality of the internal surface .of an ingot present serious problems.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principle object of the invention is the provision of a plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots which ensures an improved internal surface of the ingot space.

Another no less important object of the invention is to extend the life period of the plant.

Still another important object of the invention is to enhance the output of the plant.

The above and other objects of the invention are accomplished by the provision of a plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots comprising a mast having fastened thereof top and bottom carriages which are capable of travelling vertically and to which are appropriately attached outboard thereof an electrode holder, a mandrel and a cooled mold mounted on a base plate which is a car-provided with an opening arranged in the zone of shaping an ingot space, the car being mounted on guide bars to be movable horizontally via a drive, wherein, according to the invention, the mandrel has in its base a ball-shaped support secured intermediate of sockets set up on a bracket of the bottom carriage so ing to an enhancement of the quality of the ingot space during the melting process. a

It is expedient that the sockets in which the mandrel support is secured be mounted in bearings to allow their movement in a horizontal direction. Owing to the above displacement of the sockets, the mandrel is positioned vertically when the bottom carrriage is subjected to skewing at the firstmoment when the mandrel is wedged in the ingot space, which facilitate thereby the removal of the mandrel from the ingot space.

The present invention will be better understood from a consideration of a detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, to be had in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a plant according to the invention, and I FIG.,2 shows a ball-shaped support of a mandrel secured in sockets mounted in bearings and attached to a bracket, the view being taken along line IIII of FIG. 1 and being on an enlarged scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A plant for the electroslagmelting of hollow ingots comprising a mast 1 (FIG. 1) to which is fastened with via a top carriage 2, an electrode holder 3 provided with electrodes 4 secured thereto and connected to a power source (not shown in the drawing).

Secured to a bottom carriage 5, outboard thereof, is a mandrel 6 adapted for shaping an internal space of an ingot 7. The mandrel 6 is provided in its base with a ball-shaped support 8 secured intermediate of sockets 9 which are mounted on a bracket 10 of the bottom carriage 3 so as to provide an angular deflection of the mandrel 6 in relation to the bracket 10 and to maintain its vertical position. The sockets 9 in which the ballshaped support 8 of the mandrel 6 is secured are set up in bearings 11 to allow their displacement in a horizontal direction. The bearings 11 are arranged in a housing 12.

A cooled mold 13 for melting the ingot 7 is installed on a base plate 14 which isa car provided with an opening in the zone of shaping of the space of the ingot 7, with the mandrel 6 passing through the opening. The car of the base plate 14 is mounted in guide bars 15 and is provided with a drive (not shown in the drawing) to transfer it horizontally.

The plant operates in the following mannner:

The cooled mold 13 is mounted on the base plate 14. Then the mandrel 6 in introduced into the opening in the base plate 14 by moving the bottom carriage 5 along the mast 1 upwardly until the opening in the base plate 14 is completely overlapped. The consumable electrodes 4 are secured in the electrode holder 3 which is fastened to the top carriage 2. Next the electrodes 4 are lowered into the space of the cooled mold 13 to a specified depth. An electric current is supplied to the electrodes 4, whereupon a slag 16 is poured into the space of the mold 13 until the lowerends of the electrodes 4 are immersed into the slag 16.

When the electric current is passed through the slag- 16, heat energy is generated owing to the electric resistance of the slag l6, and the'consumable electrodes 4 formed near the walls of the mandrel 6 and mold 13 with the mandrel 6 being carried downwardly as the ingot 7 is building-up.

In case the mandrel 6 is wedged in the space of the ingot 7, the bracket can be distorted. However, since the mandrel 6 is mounted on the bracket 10 by the ball-shaped support 8 ensuring strictly vertical motion of the mandrel 6 at any deflections of the bottom carriage 5, the mandrel is readily removed from the ingot 7. This is attributable to the .fact that the ballshaped support 8 is secured in the sockets 9 which prevent the ball-shaped support 8 from being turned in relation to the bracket 10 to keep the mandrel 6 strictly vertical.

The sockets 9 secured in the housing 12 are allowed to displace freely in a horizontal direction only, with the bearings 11 ensuring a reduction in friction between the sockets 9 and housing 12.

What we claim is:

l. A plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots comprising a mast; a top carriage fastened to said mast so as to allow its transfer in a vertical direction; an electrode holder secured to said top carriage; a drive for carrying said top carriage; a cooled mold having a space for building up an ingot; a base plate mounting said cooled mold; said base plate being defined by a car provided with an opening in the zone of shaping the ingot space, horizontal guide bars in which said car is mounted; a bottom carriage fastened to said mast to allow its vertical transfer; a mandrel adapted to shape the ingot space, said mandrel being secured to said bottom carriage with the aid of a bracket and introduced into the space of said cooled mold through said opening in the base plate; and said mandrel having a base in which a ball-shaped support is secured intermediate of sockets mounted on said bracket of said bottom carriage to provide an angular'deflection of said mandrel in relation to the longitudinal axis of said bracket for maintaining the vertical position of the mandrel.

2. The plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sockets in which is secured the ball-shaped support of said mandrel, are mounted in bearings to allow the displacement of said sockets in a horizontal direction. 

1. A plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots comprising a mast; a top carriage fastened to said mast so as to allow its transfer in a vertical direction; an electrode holder secured to said top carriage; a drive for carrying said top carriage; a cooled mold having a space for building up an ingot; a base plate mounting said cooled mold; said base plate being defined by a car provided with an opening in the zone of shaping the ingot space, horizontal guide bars in which said car is mounted; a bottom carriage fastened to said mast to allow its vertical transfer; a mandrel adapted to shape the ingot space, said mandrel being secured to said bottom carriage with the aid of a bracket and introduced into the space of said cooled mold through said opening in the base plate; and said mandrel having a base in which a ball-shaped support is secured intermediate of sockets mounted on said bracket of said bottom carriage to provide an angular deflection of said mandrel in relation to the longitudinal axis of said bracket for maintaining the vertical position of the mandrel.
 2. The plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sockets in which is secured the ball-shaped support of said mandrel, are mounted in bearings to allow the displacement of said sockets in a horizontal direction. 